Process of condensing fumes.



I I attorneys H. A. HOGEL. PROCESS OFIGONDENSING FUMES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 27. 1905.

927,241. Patented m 6; 1909.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PROCESS OF CONDENSING FUMES;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 6, 1909.

Application filed. July 27, 1905. Serial 'No. 271,471.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known. that I, TTASCAL A. HoGnL, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and. State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Condensing Fumes and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in processes of condensing fumes, and is pri marily designed for use in connection. with the treatment of refractory ores, more espe cially those containing sullids of copper, lead, silver and gold. These ores are roasted and volatilized by the combined action of heat, sulfur, oxygen and salt, as set forth in a companion application. of even. date herewith, Serial No. 2714-69, renewed April 20, 1908, as Serial No. 428142; and again renewed November 23, .1908, as Serial No. 464,080.

The chloride so produced mixed. with some impurities pass over into the condenser formmg the su b ect matterof another application,

Serial N 0. 271470 and are then condensed,

the gold being recovered as the pure metal, the silver as solid chlorid of silver, the copper in solution as a chlorid, or a sulfate and the lead as solid sulfate of lead, the last named compounds being easily reducible, p riinlucing the pure metals, silver, copper and lead.

It is well knmvn that many chloride can be volatilized quite easily, and many attempts have been made to utilize this fact to recover metals from refractory ores, but, so far as I know, all such efforts have been either practical failures, when attempted to be carried out on a commercial scale, or else attended. with so much expense as to be prohibited from use. One reason for these failures and the chief one, in my opinion, was the impossibility of obtaining suitable methods and apparatus for condensing the volatilized fumes, and by my present invention this point is most carefully provided for.

In the accompanying drawing, which shows an apparatus adapted. to carry outmy improved proeess-Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the condenser, and Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross section, on an. enlarged scale, of one of the aspirators.

28 represents the delivery pipe from a volatilizing furnace. Any form of volatilizing furnace may he used, but I prefer the one shown in the companion application above referred to. This pipe is connected with. the tubes 66 of a boiler 65, which tubes are comparatively large, The fumes as they pass through the pipe 28 are at a high temperature, often up to 1800" F. or more, and this heat is utilized to generate steam in the boiler, which may be used for any desired purpose, such. as revolving the volatiliz ing furnace, for example. This preliminary cooling, which, however, must not be allowed to proceed far enough to permit any of the volatilized products to be condensed in the boiler, also ligl'itens the work of the main condenser.

At the exit end of the boiler tubes 66and communicating therewith is a pipe 28 and opposite to this pipe is a smaller pipe 30, which pipe passes through a number of aspirators 31. These aspirators are shown in horizontal section in Fig. 2 and are of the type described in my former patent, No.

671,380. Water under pressure is forced in throu h the )i e into the saace 33.

e l P l Thence the water passes tlu'ough. a narrow opening 34 into a gradually expanding throat 35, which throat is provided inside the case of the aspirator with numerous perforations 36. The opening 34 is controlled by means of the needle valve 37 operated by a hand wheel 38. Each aspirator casing is connected with the pipe 28 by a cross pipe 39. The effect of the swiftly rushing current of water through the opening 34; and throat 35 is to entrain along with it the volatilized materials which are d elivcred from the pipe 28 and also draw up the liquid which is in the pipe 30, as hereinafter (ilescribed, and which is connccted. to the aspirator casing. In Fig. 1, I have shown four of these aspirators, although any desired number may be used. The effect of these aspirators is to cause a partial vacuum in the pipe 28, which aids in the ready discharge of the volatilized material from the furnaces, this operation being also aided by the air pressure in said furnaces, as (.lescribed in my companion application already referred to. The throats 35 of the aspirators connect with a vertical pipe 4-0 closed. at the top which pipe enters the top of a condensing vessel 4-] which is prrwided with a partition 42 which reaches to the top and nearly to the bottom tl'iereof. Under the influence of the currents produced by the aspirators, the liquid flows up through the pipe 30, mingles with the volatilized materials coming over through the pipe 28, and is discharged into the condenser 41 which is usually kept pretty nearly full of liquid. The condenser 41 is provided with the usual glass 43 connected by valved pipes 44 and 45 with the body of the condenser. The liquid from the pipe 40 charged with the volatilized material and also with air passes down under the partition 41 and up again to the discharge pipe 46 which is connected with a second condensing cylinder 47.

In order to permit the excess of air which comes down through the pipe 40 to escape, I provide an upwardly extending pipe 48 which runs into a casing 49 provided with a stop cock 50 and escape pipe 51. In the casing 49, the pipe 48 dips below the surface of the water contained therein, thus alfording a water seal which permits the air to escape freely but prevents a return movement of air through the pipe 48.

The vessel or tank 47 is provided with a liquid discharge pipe 52 which is connected with a rotary or centrifugal pump 53, although any desired type of pump may be used. The liquid is forced by the pump 53 up through the pipe 54 which is closed at the top, and then across through a number of pipes 55 into the pipe 56 which is also closed at the top. W hile passing through the pipes 55, the liquid is cooled by means of a shower of water discharged through perforations in the pipe 57 which runs above and parallel to the pipes 55, like an ordinary beer cooler. The liquid then passes from the pipe 56 into the pump 62 and back again into the pipe 30. The repeated circulation of the liquid through the condensing apparatus is for the purpose of more completely saturating it, for example, with the soluble chlorid and sulfate of copper.

hen the apparatus begins to run, the first portion of the liquid is of course a very dilute solutionso dilute that it would hardly pay to treat it, but after the liquid has been more thoroughly saturated, it reaches a point where it may profitably be treated. The liquid is then drawn out through the pipe 63 provided with a valve 64 from the pipe 56. Through the pipe 58 provided with a valve 59 at the bottom of the tank 47 is discharged a deposit of solid chlorid of silver and a solid chlorid and sulfate of lead. These precipitates are then. sepa rated from the liquor that passes over with them. in any suitable way, and the liquor is mixed with the liquor which is discharged through the pipe 63. This liquor is then treated in the usual way, as by electrolysis or the insertion of iron therein, to recover the copper. The metallic silver is recovered from the chlorid of silver in the usual way, as by treatment with zinc, and the lead is smelted, pro ducing metallic lead, which usually carries a greater or less percentage of silver and gold which are recovered in the usual way. The gold is recovered in the metallic state for the reason that the compounds of gold which are formed in the operation, namely, the chlorid and a small proportion of the sulfid, are very easily decomposed so that the gold is recovered from the condensing apparatus as a metal. Some of the gold settles in the bottom of the tank 41 which is therefore provided with a discharge pipe having a stop cock 61. Some of it goes over into the second tank 47 and is discharged through the pipe 58, being separated from the lead and silver compounds in the usual way. It will thus be seen that practically all the lead, copper, gold, and silver volatilized in the furnace, is condensed and collected in the condenser, the result being the saving of practically all these metals at a slight expense. If the ore contains zinc this may be practically eliminated during the roasting operation, and the ZlIlC may be recovered or thrown away. If the ore contains iron, this iron will not usually be volatilized, but will remain behind in the furnace either in the form of fine metallic iron or else as a magnetic oxid, and in either case the iron can be recovered in the usual way. Many ores, however, contain too small percentages of iron and Zinc to warrant the saving of these metals, especially in localities where labor, fuel, etc., are high, as is the case in many localities where these complex refractory sulfid ores occur. If theores do contain iron or zinc, these metals are either saved or thrown away, as circumstances dictate.

I claim 1. In the treatment of refractory ores, the process of condensing the compounds driven off from said ores by heat, which consists in simultaneously and intimately mixing said volatilized compounds with air and water, causing the water to repeatedly circulate through a condensing apparatus, allowing the excess of air to escape from the water during its passage through the condensing apparatus, and cooling the water during its passage through said condensing apparatus, substan tially as described.

2. In the treatn'ient of refractory ores, the process of condensing the compounds driven oil from said ores by heat, which consists in subjecting the volatilized product to apreliminary cooling, simultaneously and intimately n'iixing said volatilized product with air and water, causing the water to repeatedly circulate through the condenser, allowing the excess of air to escape from the water during its passage through the condenser and cooling the water during said passage, substantially as described.

3. In the treatment of refractory ores, the process of condensing the compounds driven off from said ores by heat, which consists in subjecting said compounds to a preliminary cooling, entraining said compounds and Water together by a strong air blast, causing the Water to repeatedly circulate through a condenser, allowing the excess of air to escape from the Water during its passage through the condenser, cooling the Water during said passage and finally collecting the solid and liquid products from the condenser and obtaining the metals therefrom in the usual Way, substantially as described.

l. In the treatment of refractory ores, the process of condensing the compounds driven off from said ores by heat, which consists in subjecting said compounds to a preliminary cooling, entraining said compounds and Water together by a strong air blast, causing the Water to repeatedly circulate through a condenser, allowing the excess of air to es cape from the Water during its passage through the condenser, cooling the Water during said passage and finally collecting the solid and liquid products from the condenser and obtaining the metals therefrom in the usual Way, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

HASCAL A. HOGEL.

Witnesses:

S. M. PAULING, L. F. DAVIES. 

